Team: No. 17 SunnyD Ford Fusion
Crew Chief: Brian Pattie
Twitter: @Stenhouse17Team, @StenhouseJr, and @RoushFenway
ADVANCE NOTES
Stenhouse Jr. at Charlotte Motor Speedway
Stenhouse Jr. has 11 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) starts at Charlotte Motor Speedway with an average starting position of 20.0 and average finishing position of 20.3.
The two-time XFINITY series champion made his first MENCS start at Charlotte in 2011 in the famed No. 21, finishing an impressive 11th; his best Cup career finish at the 1.5-mile track.
Last time at Charlotte
Steadily running in the top-15, the two-time XFINITY champion was scored in the 10th position before losing a few positions at the end of stage one due to a tight handling machine. Mother nature prevailed in the second stage causing NASCAR to red flag the 400-lap race for approximately an hour and a half. Shortly after going back green, Stenhouse told crew chief Brian Pattie that he had a vibration. As the team was waiting on the wall for the Fastenal Ford to hit pit-road, a much needed caution came out to allow the 2013 MENCS Rookie of the Year to pit under yellow flag conditions. In spite of battling an ill-handling Ford, Stenhouse was scored in the top-15 for the majority of stage two and three. With a handful of cars gambling with fuel mileage in the final 60 laps, the Roush Fenway Racing driver was able to gain four positions in the closing laps to take the checkered flag in the 15th position.
NASCAR Playoffs
After advancing to the Round of 12 last weekend at Dover, Stenhouse Jr. is currently in the eighth seed due to his two wins earlier this season.
“Race With Ricky” Sweepstakes
Leading into the weekend events at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Stenhouse Jr. will take the wheel of a go-kart to race NASCAR fan Holly Uselton, a Minnesota mom. It’s a dream come true for Uselton, who will not only get to race the two-time NASCAR champion around a go-kart track, but will be attending her very first NASCAR race as a result of winning the SunnyD “Race with Ricky” sweepstakes.
Stenhouse Jr. on racing at Charlotte:
“I’m looking forward to this weekend. I put a lot of pressure on myself heading into Chicago and ultimately made mistakes so now having that first round under my belt, I’m looking forward to round two. We definitely have to keep working on our cars and getting them better as the rest of the competition has picked up their performance as well. I know everyone at Roush Fenway is working really hard and our main focus is to advance to the Round of 8.”
